Ethereum developer Tim Beiko has shut down the idea of reversing the blockchain after the massive Bybit hack. He explained on X why this just isn’t practical.
Why a Rollback is Impossible
The Bybit hack, which saw $1.4 billion in crypto stolen, has sparked a lot of talk about how to recover the funds. One idea floating around was rolling back the Ethereum blockchain – essentially, undoing recent transactions. Beiko says this is a bad idea for several reasons.
He points to past examples:
- Bitcoin 2010: A small-scale rollback was possible then because Bitcoin was tiny and mining power was low. Things are very different now.
- The DAO 2016: A hack of The DAO (a decentralized application) led to a controversial blockchain change. This caused a major split in the Ethereum community, creating Ethereum Classic. This was a one-off, exceptional situation.
The Bybit situation is different:
- No protocol errors: The hack exploited a weakness in Bybit’s security, not a flaw in the Ethereum network itself.
- Funds are moving: The stolen crypto is already being moved around, making a rollback incredibly complex and potentially ineffective. It would be a never-ending chase.
- Ethereum is huge: The network is massive and interconnected. A rollback would cause chaos across many DeFi projects and bridges.
The Bottom Line
In short, a blockchain rollback for the Bybit hack is unrealistic and would likely cause far more problems than it solves.
ETH Price Update
At the time of writing, ETH is trading at $2,754, up 2.77% in the last 24 hours.
